In many situations today burned out fluorescent lighting tubes are still being dangerously disposed of by breaking them up, upon creating striking blows with them at the edge and over the interior of waste containers, before there is any controlled attempt to puncture them allowing the inside air pressure to increase to match the outside air pressure. If no equalization of the inside, outside air pressures is controllably undertaken, then upon striking the first blow, the air rushing in to destroy the vacuum status, creates a reactive explosive type of force which wildly distributes glass particles and phosphorus powders potentially being able to hurt the person's eyes and face.
Where burned out fluorescent lighting tubes are substantially and constantly being replaced in larger dwellings, a fluorescent lamp bulb breaking device is used, such as the one illustrated and described by Edgar H. Tellier, in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,988 issued in 1952. The fluorescent lamp bulb or tube is inserted end first down into a hollow-lead-in pipe and beyond into a chamber, housing a revolving four bladed impellor, which breakes up the glass tube into portions, which drop down into a collecting bin. A water stream flushes the broken tube pieces from within the impellor housing down into the collecting bin.
Also Robert G. Worman in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,489 granted in 1967, describes and illustrates his disposal device, which he designed to be used by persons, when they were crushing, puncturing, or otherwise treating articles such as glass lamp bulbs, metal cans and the like. He provided an end loading nestled assembly of two tubular members. A fluorescent tube is placed and held by the inner tubular member. Thereafter the tubular members are relatively rotated, and a tube contacting unit, secured to the inner member, is driven into destructive penetration of the burned out fluorescent tube, which is completely surrounded by the two nestled tubular members. Persons destroying the fluorescent tubes are protected from the explosive glass particles and phosphorus powders, which remain inside the nestled two tubular members.
There remained, however, a need for a small low cost hand held tool, which could be safely used by those persons who dispose of fewer burned out fluorescent tubes by breaking them at the locale of refuse cans, whereby the air pressures could be safely balanced, before the first breaking blow is undertaken, thereby avoiding any wild distribution of glass particles and phosphorus powders.